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It Takes Three
Author: Misura
Beta: none
Email: [email protected]
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Merle/Micah/Nathaniel, hints at Zane/Cherry
Warnings: oocness, slightly silly, attempted fluff, kind of AT/AU
Request: Something cute. Like candles, or something, or roses.
Written For: Erik LeBeau
Micah's first hint that Something Fishy was going on consisted of something so utterly small and relatively innocent that he forgot it almost as soon as he noticed it.
Nathaniel hummed while cutting the vegetables.
While this in itself wasn't in any way extraordinary or unusual, Nathaniel -as well as the rest of them- had been somewhat downcast after Anita's departure for California, to meet some faerie-princess. Even if they all knew she'd had her reasons for not taking any of them with her, and that they were probably *good* reasons too, it didn't make her absence any easier to bear.
In less than a year, they'd grown used to having Anita around and now that she was gone, it was hard to get not-used to it again. Everyone was edgy and short-tempered, ready to explode at the slightest provocation.
Cherry and Zane were worst, though not because they were more snappy or violent than the rest of them. Rather, they were the two who, usually, always got along. It made Micah want to smash their heads together all the more badly when they were fighting, especially after catching the hurt look in Cherry's eyes after a particularly heated argument.
Of course, Micah never gave in to his desire, since he knew that he too felt the strain, and he absolutely refused to take it out on some -more or less- innocent victim. He was their Nimir-Raj after all, the one who should protect, cherish and lead them.
If the wereleopards in his care felt restless and ill at ease, it was at least partially his fault. His responsibility. He should be making them feel better, reminding them Anita would be back soon and reassuring them they could manage without her.
The proof of his failure made his ears ring at least once a day, though it seemed to hurt less than it should, perhaps because everything other emotion was overshadowed by the one thing that he never seemed to be able to shake of.
He missed Anita.
*Everybody* missed Anita.
And yet here was Nathaniel, acting almost *cheerful* while preparing their dinner.
Micah briefly considered if he should ask Nathaniel what there was to be happy about -or perhaps shake him through one another, demanding how Nathaniel *dared* to merrily hum while the rest of them were so miserable. In the end, he decided not to.
He didn't really want to know that someone was stronger than himself when it came to forgetting about Anita.
Micah's second hint arrived in the form of a box of chocolates, carried into the room by Merle. Somewhat to his shame, Micah's first thought was that Anita, for some reason, had sent it to *him*, and that Merle had merely been the one to get to the door when they'd been delivered.
Deciding that he definitely needed to get his mind off Anita, Micah turned to Merle, hoping he might find some distraction there.
"Are you going on a date?" he asked, making sure to try and smile. Merle might be, well, let's be honest here, kind of old, but there was no reason at all why he shouldn't be dating someone. Micah'd have thought that Merle would have told the rest of them about it if he'd been planning to spend a romantic evening outside of the house, if only for practicality's sake, but ...
Maybe it'd simply slipped his mind. Or maybe he'd been waiting for the right moment. Or maybe -
"No," Merle replied. He might have been looking slightly uneasy as he said that, but Micah wasn't entirely sure, and the expression vanished again rather quickly. "I just bought these for ... " Merle stared at the chocolates, his unease plain to read on his face this time, though Micah still had no idea what was causing it. "I just bought these," Merle stated.
"Oh," Micah managed, a bit lamely, mentally kicking himself for not being a bit more responsive.
"Is something the matter?" Merle frowned, puzzledly eyeing Micah.
"No, no, nothing," Micah hastened to reassure him. "There's nothing wrong whatsoever with buying chocolates for yourself. If that's what you want. I mean, women do it all the time when they're feeling a bit under the weather, don't they?" They did on TV, at any rate. Micah didn't think he'd ever seen Anita do it.
"Not that I want to imply you're acting like a woman," Micah continued, as Merle's frown deepened. "Or that you're under the weather. Or ... something." Right. So much for his attempt at some casual conversation.
Merle stared at him, and for a moment, Micah was sure he'd get yelled at, Nimir-Raj or not. Instead though, the box of chocolates was held out to him almost aggressively.
"Want one?" Merle offered. "I don't have much of a sweet tooth anyway."
Swallowing the first question that popped into his mind at that declaration -if Merle didn't like candy, why on earth would he buy chocolates?- Micah gingerly reached out. Who knew, it might actually help to make him feel better.
"Thank you," Micah answered.
Merle casually dropped the box on a nearby table, heading in the direction of the kitchen without another word. Micah shrugged, deciding Merle probably wouldn't mind him taking another chocolate.
After all, those thousands of women who said chocolate helped against depressions couldn't be wrong, could they?
Half an hour later, Micah strolled into the kitchen, finding Merle and Nathaniel emphatically not engaged in any kind of conversation upon his entrance.
"Where is everybody?" he inquired, feeling oddly disappointed at not having found anyone moping or grumbling at him about Anita being gone without them, Anita *still* not being back or just about life being sucky in general.
Merle and Nathaniel exchanged a look. Merle made a helpless gesture, at which Nathaniel snorted, appearing slightly annoyed, but resigned.
"Zane and Cherry are on a date, dinner and a movie. They'll be back around midnight. At the earliest," Nathaniel added after a moment's thought. "Gregory's visiting his little nephew and called a few minutes ago to tell he'd stay the night over at Vivian and Stephen's, Damian's off to his job, Caleb has gone ... somewhere." From Nathaniel's tone of voice, Micah concluded that he didn't particularly cared about the whereabouts of Caleb.
"So it's just the three of us," Merle concluded.
Micah sighed. It seemed that people had decided en masse that they'd be able to handle their problems better by themselves and to leave the place that Micah had hoped would remind them of the need to stick together. Perhaps if everyone returned refreshed and cheerful tomorrow, he wouldn't mind so much, but right now, he felt like he simply hadn't been able to deal with a problem properly.
Even in dealing with the threat of Chimera, the reason for Merle to abdicate as Nimir-Raj in Micah's favor, he'd needed help in the end. He knew that Merle had grown too used to being his second to change their positions back again, yet sometimes he felt Merle might have been more suited for the job after all. In spite of his human weaknesses.
*Because* of his human weaknesses, perhaps. Chimera had been something extreme, something most clans would never have had to face in their entire existence. Micah had stepped up as Nimir-Raj because he'd had less to lose and because he thought he had what it'd take to defeat a monster.
He knew he had other gifts too, and that most of his wereleopards looked up to him, but ...
" ... don't you think so?" Nathaniel smiled at him. Micah realized he'd allowed his mind to wander, thus missing most of what Nathaniel had been saying.
Nodding faintly, he prayed he wasn't agreeing to something too embarrassing or disagreeable. Merle's expression didn't give him a single clue about the matter Nathaniel wanted him to agree to. Which hopefully meant it was perfectly safe, to both Nathaniel's health and his own dignity.
Nathaniel appeared satisfied with his response, whirling around to get more vegetables from the fridge.
"Since you're both here anyway, why don't you help me a little? These all need to be cleaned and cut into dice." Nathaniel got out two plates and knives, shoving them at Merle and Micah.
Micah rose, shaking his head. "I need to make a call, to hear if Anita's all right."
Merle sent him an unfriendly glance. Micah grinned and winked at him, gratefully making his escape.
Micah's third clue was one he shouldn't have been able to miss, no matter how distracted he was by Anita's enthusiastic report on California. He entered the dinner-room to find it illuminated by dozens of candles, spreading their soft light over a luxuriously dressed table.
Nathaniel beamed at him. "Do you like it? It took me and Merle hours to get it like this."
Merle's sour expression told Micah his assistance might not have been offered fully voluntary. Or maybe, Micah mused, Merle was merely embarrassed to have aided in such a frivolous task.
"It's very ... " 'Romantic' was the word that first occured to him, really, but he sincerely doubted if that was the intended effect. Not to mention that *that* would really earn him a sour look from Merle. " ... classy."
Nathaniel appeared slightly disappointed, prompting Micah to compliment him on the food a bit more than he'd normally have, even if Nathaniel *was* an excellent cook. Merle, Micah noted, ate little and spoke less, perhaps because he was still sulking over being employed for dressing the table.
Doubtless, Merle would object to that idea, if Micah would voice it. Which was why Micah wisely refrained from doing so.
"There's a really good movie on TV tonight," Nathaniel babbled. To Micah, he sounded slightly nervous, though there hardly seemed to be any reason for that.
"Maybe we could watch it. Just the three of us," Micah proposed, spotting a good opportunity for a little bonding. Then, belatedly realizing Nathaniel's definition of 'a really good movie' might differ from his or Merle's, considering those three tapes he'd found stuffed in the corner of Anita's closet, he added: "What kind of movie?"
"Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'," Nathaniel replied, to Micah's relief. They hadn't yet reached 'Oliver Twist' in their journey through the literary world, but he was familiar enough with the stories of Charles Dickens in general, as well as this specific one.
"They broadcast the same old thing every year," Merle grumbled. "You can count me out; I've got better things to do with my time." He stared at Micah defiantly, almost as if he *wanted* Micah to lose his temper and *order* him, as Nimir-Raj, to join Nathaniel and Micah.
Micah sighed, wondering what he could come up with to get rid of this atmosphere of restlessness and discontent. "Fine. Then it'll just be me and Nathaniel."
Merle glared at him, though he didn't speak another word until after the dessert. At that point, Merle simply rose and stalked out of the room, muttering something Micah didn't quite catch. He wasn't sure if that was something to be sorry about.
Nathaniel got that hurt expression in his eyes again, making Micah want to promise him nearly anything if only he'd cheer up because of it.
"Could you help me wash the dishes?" Nathaniel asked
Merle coughed, forcing himself to avert Nathaniel's gaze, instead focusing on the painting that hung on the wall, a reproduction of some famous painting by Dujae.
"Sorry." He beat a hasty retreat, soothing his conscience by reminding himself he'd agreed to watch 'A Christmas Carol' with the young wereleopard later on. Merle wasn't the only one who'd seen that movie over a dozen times already.
Micah's fourth clue wasn't really much of a clue. That is to say: it possessed neither much subtlety nor did it made any attempt to hide its intentions.
'A Christmas Carol' had turned out to be exactly as dull and boring as he remembered it being last year. Oh, the plot was interesting enough. In fact, the plot was downright *good*. The actors were good too. It was just that he'd seen it too often to appreciate it anymore.
The past days, well, the past weeks actually, had been rather draining. That, combined with the movie, caused Micah to find himself dozing off a little every now and then. He tried to avoid it, to be alert to reply to Nathaniel's occasional remarks on the characters, which were mostly along the lines of yelling at Scrooge or feeling sorry for Scrooge's victims.
Nathaniel apparently had somehow managed to reach the twenty-first year of his life without having seen this movie a single time. Had Micah been any less tired, the animated way Nathaniel watched the story unfold would have amused him, perhaps even roused him to a bit of enthusiasm himself, for youth-sentiment if nothing else.
Micah *was* tired though, and it seemed he was getting a bit fuzzy as well. For some reason, every time he guiltily shot awake from a few-minute-brief nap, Nathaniel appeared to be sitting a little closer to him. Micah could have sworn they'd been on opposite sides of the couch at the beginning of the movie, but currently, halfway 'A Christmas Carol', Nathaniel could touch him by shifting a mere few inches.
Obviously, Nathaniel was much too caught up in what was going on on TV to be trying to ... do whatever one could accomplish by sneaking a little nearer every few minutes. Or by casually placing a hand on another person's thigh.
Micah blinked, staring at Nathaniel, who was no longer watching the movie. The reason became obvious at a glance; a commercial break.
"You're much too tense," Nathaniel noted.
Swallowing his first reply ("Well, I suddenly feel like you're coming on to me, only I'm not 100% sure, and it'd be real embarrassing to be wrong,"), Micah answered lightly: "I've had a lot on my mind recently."
"Hm-hm." Nathaniel nodded, his flashing Micah a grin the only warning he got before Nathaniel abandoned his sneak-up tactics in favor of a more ... direct approach. Micah found himself pinned to the couch, his lap full of Nathaniel.
"Are you hitting on me?" Micah inquired, feeling kind of foolish (what *else* could Nathaniel be doing?) but wanting the verbal confirmation anyway.
"Isn't that obvious?" Nathaniel's eyes twinkled. "Are you objecting?"
Micah forced himself to seriously consider the question. Nathaniel was quite attractive, though in a different way than, say, Jean-Claude. He didn't think he'd mind getting a little more intimate with Nathaniel but ...
"We're both missing Anita," Micah remarked, meaning: 'If Anita was here, you wouldn't be doing this. You might not even be *feeling* like you wanted this'.
"True." Nathaniel nodded pleasantly. "She's miles and miles away from here. She can't tell me what to do and what not to do. And she wouldn't mind anyway. This isn't about Anita; we both love her. But that doesn't mean I can't have any feelings for you as well."
Micah thought about this for a moment. Nathaniel bending down to kiss him was rather distracting, even if the sensation was rather pleasant.
"I suppose ... " Micah sighed, shifting his position slightly. "But when she gets back ... "
"Would you stop worrying about tomorrow?" Nathaniel sounded almost angry. "And would *you* stop hiding around the corner as if this whole thing wasn't as much your idea as mine?"
Micah turned his head to see who the other person was that Nathaniel was addressing, even though he could already make a good guess.
"And Anita's," Merle added, looking not quite happy with Nathaniel having drawn Micah's attention to him.
"*Anita* put you up to this?" Micah exclaimed, rather surprised. Taking into account the trouble she'd had with Asher and Jean-Claude, he'd hardly pictured her as the mastermind behind this evening.
Merle and Nathaniel exchanged a look. "She ordered us to help you relax," Nathaniel explained finally. "She didn't specify, but she did say we should do whatever it'd take."
"Asher suggested Nathaniel would seduce you. We got Vivian and Stephen to help pick the decorations for the dining-room, and Richard suggested the chocolate as well as the movie," Merle supplied.
"It sounds like a conspiracy," Micah remarked, feeling just a little bit stung at finding out how much must have been going on behind his back. *Someone* could have warned him or something ...
"It *was* a conspiracy. But one with good intentions," Nathaniel assured him. "We only want to obey Anita's command as our Nimir-Ra, and to please our Nimir-Raj. What's wrong with that?"
Micah studied Merle, trying to decipher the emotion on his face. Nathaniel's present emotions were easy enough to read (anticipation with an edge of impatience), yet Merle's were hidden. Ah well, if you didn't know something, the easiest way to find out was also the simplest.
"Merle?" Micah asked, putting a dozen questions in that one word. He knew Merle'd hear them all, though it remained to be seen if he'd *answer* them too.
Merle shrugged. "I figured there'd be no harm in it."
Nathaniel stared at him hard, though Micah wasn't quite sure why. It was as if Nathaniel wanted him to say or do something, right now, but he didn't have a clue what.
"I'm not the only one who didn't exactly find the idea of seducing you unpleasant," Nathaniel remarked, so casually that Micah knew the words held a second meaning, being intended for Merle, even if Nathaniel had spoken to Micah.
Merle growled. Nathaniel stiffened for a moment, before he raised his head to stare challengingly at Merle, as if daring him to ... do something Micah was pretty sure Merle wouldn't do.
Even if, of course, he hadn't exactly expected Nathaniel to jump him either.
"You're both young," Merle ground out. It almost sounded like an accusation. "But I'm *old*."
Micah blinked. Usually, when anyone called Merle that, or even suggested that he couldn't keep up with these modern times anymore, people tended to get hurt. Or, at the very least, sufficiently intimidated not to voice such ideas again.
"Experienced, but still attractive," Nathaniel corrected him firmly, nudging Micah.
For one moment, Micah wondered if perhaps he ought to shove away Nathaniel and retreat to his room, to show once and for all that he would not be manipulated into doing things that weren't his idea. Especially not by some young member of his pard and a Master Vampire who ought to know him better than that.
Although ...
Nathaniel did have a point; Merle wasn't precisely ugly. He didn't have Nathaniel's prettiness, but then again, few men did. And he did recall commenting on that to Jean-Claude once or twice, in the afterglow of the feeding.
Perhaps, this once, he ought to allow himself to be manipulated.
"I agree."
Nathaniel rolled off of him, fluidly rising from the couch and stalking into Merle's direction. Apparently he was certain enough of Micah not going to try and make a run for it.
Merle, being Merle, refused to back up, thus neatly allowing Micah to sneak up on him from behind, while his attention was fixed on Nathaniel.
"So ... how about we retreat to the nearest bedroom to get some relaxation? I think we all need it," Nathaniel proposed in a sing-song tone that made Merle wince.
"You sure you don't want to see the end of the movie?" Merle asked gruffly. There was a hint of desperation in his eyes though. Micah might have let him go because of that, had it not been for the other emotions his supernatural senses picked up from Merle.
"Oh please." Nathaniel sniffed disdainfully. "I've seen it twenty times already."
The End
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